Automobile-tire.



C. A. LIEB. AUTOMOBILE TIRE. Arrnronzon rlnnn 1139.23, 190s.

Patented Aug. 30,1910.

'r ltime CHARLES A. LIEB, F NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMOBILE-TIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent. i Patented Aug, Sill, 1916.

Application led December 23, 1908. Serial No. L$8,916.

To all. whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLES A. Linn, a

citizen 'ot' the United States, and a resident of the borough ot' Manhattan, city, county,

and State ot New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automobilerlires, of which the following is a specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l illustrates a sectional view of one form of my intention; Fig. :2 illustrates an elevation ot that which is shown in Fig. l, a wheel being shown complete; Fig. 3 illustrates a modified construction.

As is well known, the slices of automobile and similar pneumatic tires are made up of layers of textile fabric cemented and firmly l' held together by rubber, the rubber being iemployed because-otl its elasticity, its ability to tirmly grip hold of and bind the textile material together, its waterproof and air tii 'ht qualities and lastlyj its tractive power. .ie textile fabric is employed to give the requisite strength.. It is also well known that because of the heat ot' the roadbed in warm weather and that generated by the intending' of the rubber occasioned by the repeated and rapid compressions and expansions of the shoe when the machine is'in operation, great heat is generated within the shoe which cannot be dissipated because of the insulating characteristics of rubber and consequently as the vehicle continues in operation, particularly lif the motion be rapid, the heat quickly increases until a point is reached at which the rubber of the shoe and also of the inner tube becoming softened, loses its holding quality to a greater or less degree and consequently in time such a temperature develops 'that the strength of the tire and ot' the inner tube is materially reduced and gblow outs destroying both, resuit; also owing' to the softening ot the rubber. it more readily picks up puncturiug materials trom the roadbed and more readily permits the gouging out ot pieces from the face ot the tire when obstructions or roughnesses are encountered. This repeated heatprocess which, in time destroys the rubber.

In theattempt to overcome the 4above stated objections manufacturers have gradualiv increased the size o? the shoes, larger and larg tires being' usal, ne as to give large arcas ot contact between the textile fabric the rubber cementit-ious material,

ing, moreover, continues the vulcanization Y and also to secure more cubic inches of air or gas inside the tire in the hope that blowouts, punctures, and other defects, would be thereby avoided. This very greatly increases the lirst cost aswell as the maintenance charges.'

It is the purpose of my invention, therefore, to materially reduce the above stated metallic air reservoir o relatively thin metal through the Walls of which Vthe heat of the contained air will beinateriallyy reduced by radiation since the metal employed will be a good conductor and also I may do away altogether with an inner tube, and owing to these structural features, I materially reduce the initial cost of the slices, and what is more important, greatly reduce the cost of maintenance; also I so construct the parts that co-act with the shoe that in the event of reduction ot' the air or gas pressure from any cause, the tire will when collapsed, subthat in effect the tire will then become a solid one and may be run a considerable distance Without injury either to the tire itself or to any part ot the running gear.

My invention contemplates the construction of the tire upon an altogether new principle. Certain of the beneficial phases ot the invention, however, may be employed in wheels and tires ot' known constructions.

Referring now to the drawings, l represents one ot' the spokes of an automobile wheel, 2 the telly, 3 a hollow metallic rim rigidly held to the telly by bolts et, or in any suitable manner. The metallic rim 3 may be able torni to give it`the requisite strength and lightness. It comprises a circuinterential chamber-'5, within which is a domelike uppcrpart (3, having pcrtorations 7 through which thc air-contained in the rim can circulate into a chamber -8. outer shoe made of fabric material and rubber, and I prefer to line it With a layer 10 ot better quality rubber to prevent the es- 9 may be made of the shape shown and is clamped to the metallic rim Bby means of annular ring plates 1l, ll, which are forcibly compressed against the lower edges 1Q, 12, of the'shoc by'means of annular rings 18, which may be threaded as shown to the metallic rim 3. l-t are a series ot balls constituting an antifriction bearing between the objection and to accomplish this I provide a side upon va suitable supporting surface so.

made. of anyY suitable metal and in any suit! 9 is the` cape of the compressed air or gas. Ilhe shoe'- annular plates 11 and the threaded rings 13, so that a suitable spanncr wrench or equivalent implement beingv used, the annular plates 1l may be moved inwardly with great torce, so 'as to squeeze the lower edges 1Q of with them. These parts 'being removed, the

shoe is placed in position as illustrated in Fig. 1. Thereupon the plates 11 and the threaded rings 13 with the antitriction balls in place, are again applied to the rim 3 and screwed up tight, so that the lower edges l2 of the shoe are so rigidly clamped between the annular plates 11 and the rim 3, as to secure air-tight, joints. Thereupon air is pumped into the air chamber 5 within the rim 3 through al suitable tube provided with the usual valve, as is well understood. The compressed air passes through the holes 7 into the space 8 and infiates the shoe which is then in condition for use in the usual way.

It will be observed that I accomplish the following important advantages: first, no inner tube is required; second, to assure airtightness in the shoe I employ the lining 10 which will give the Same effect as an inner tube at much less cost than that of inner tubes as now constructed; third, I secure many more cubic inches of air or gas than in the ordinary inner tube, with much less amount of rubber; fourth, large port-ions of the suri'ace orp the tubular metallic rim being exposed to the atmosphere" and in the fnost ad vantageous position to induceand facilitate radiation of the heat, the temperature of the air within the shoe and rim is materially reduced; lifth, the compression ofthe shoe when in operation will occasion continual circulation of the air through the openings 7 into theinterior of the rim 3, thus continually circulating the cooled air throughout. the entire interior of the shoe and hollow rim; sixth, if there should be a puncture, the shoe cannot entirely collapse which is likely to destroy it because of the sharp folding of its sides over the edges of the rim, in other words, rim cutting, so called; onrthe contrary, it-A can subside or collapse only so far as willbring it in contact with the dome of the part 3 which being seamless and tubular in construction is suflieiently strong to support the weight and resist the side thrusts arising on curves, thus in edcct the shoe when collapsed will simplv be transformed from a pneumatic tire into a solid tire, and the car can be run with care for an indefinite distance without injury to the shoe or any part of the structure.

In order that the advantage `last referred to may be more fully realized, I sometimes modify the construction of the tubular rim or air reservoir 3 as shown in Fig. 3, in

which the rim is shown of a somewhat different shape, but is substantially the same in operation. In this construction I conne the shoe to the rim by annular plates 15, 15,- which are clamped together with cross bolts 16, and lf reducel the height and area of theouter partei the hollow rim as shown, so4 that said outer part is about even with the upper surface ot the edges of the shoe when collapsed as indicated by the numeral 17. In

this way, should a puncture occur, the shoe will change its shape from that which it is when inilated, as shown in dotted lines, to

that which it assumes when collapsed as shown in full lines. It will be seen that` when the parts are made as shown in Fig. 8,

good and substantial support is aiorded for the collapsed shoe, so that it may be run with safety even in its collapsed condition.

It isobvious that modifications may be madein the details of construction of the parts without departing from the essentials of the invention which are that instead of the usual inner tube, there shall be an im movable, hollow or tubular rim made of radiating material exposed to the exterior atmosphere. It is immaterial whether this hollow 95 rim be constructed and'arranged exactly'as l in the two examples illustrated, or in some other way except that it is essential that it shall be seamless, in other words, tubular in construction, not having any cracks or seams in it, because otherwise it will not have the requisite strength to sustain the shoe when collapsed and to resist the crushing and lateralv strains then brought upon it.

Obviously my invention is applicable to the socalled removable rim tires as well as to those in which the rim remains permanent-ly on the wheel,

l. A n automobile or similar wheel, oomprising a perforated, seamless, hollow, metallic rim supported upon the telly of the wheel and having a 'part which projects radially beyond the other parts ot the rim and which is adapted to act as a rigid support for the shoe when the latter is partly collapsed, a hollow, flexible, pneumatic shoe, and means to make the shoe air-tight.

2. In an automobile or similar wheel, a seamless, perforated, hollow, metallic rim,

a part of which projects radially and Vis adapted to act as a rigid support for the shoe when' the latter is partly collapsed, other parts of said rim being in direct contact with the external atmosphere for reducing the temperature of the air therein, and a hollow, flexible, pneumatic shoe,

3. In an automobile or similar wheel, a seamless, hollow, perforated, metallic rim which acts as a reinforce for the telly of the wheel, clamping devices whereby a hollow lshoe may be hermet-ically secured4 thereto, and a hollow, iiexible, pneumatic shoe.

4. In an automobile or similar wheel, a seamless, hollow, metallic rim having a part which projects Aradially beyond any other part of the rim, whereby it is adapted to act as a rigid support for the shoe when thelat` ter is collapsed, said radially projecting part being provided with perforations, means whereby a hollow, pneumatic shoe-may be hermetically clamped to said rim, a hollow, flexible, pneumatic shoe, and means whereby air may beforced into said rim.

5. In an automobile or similar wheel, a:

seamless, hollow, metallic rim, the peripheral surface whereof is perforated and projects radially beyond any other part of the rim,

whereby it is adapted to act as a rigid sup port for the shoe when the latter is partly collapsed, and having also laterally presente ed clamping surfaces and clamping plates to co-act with said surfaces, a` hollow, flexible,

pneumatic shoe, and meansV to force the clamping plates toward the clamping surfaces.

6. In an automobile 01 similar Wheel, a,

rigid, seamless, hollow, metallic rim and a. hollow, flexible, pneumatic shoe,means -to 30 hermetically attach the shoe to the rim, lthe outer portions ol the latter being so formed as to constitute a rigid support for the for iner when partly collapsed.

7. In an automobile or similar Wheel, a seamless, hollow, metallic rim adapted t0 contain compressed air, a part of Whlch pro-i name to'this specification in the presence of 45 two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES. A. LIEB. lVit-nesses i PniLLirs ABBOTT, F. M; DoUsAoH.

arts 40 

